Perseverance
by Rana Temporaria
Summary: The reaper invasion has started, and various power groups are searching for solutions as the militaries fight a losing war. Can there be victory, or shall the reapers finish their scheduled culling? This is an AU, where most of the ME3 plot is ignored.
1. Presence in the Backwater

The battle raged in the skies above New Karnak. The surface to air armament donated by anonymous benefactors had so far helped keep the reaper assault at bay. A single destroyer lay crippled in the coastline, brought down in its descent by massed artillery fire to its underbelly. Husks had spread from the downed machine, but they were being shot in droves. So far, the humans were winning. A single destroyer was not enough to take the recently reinforced colony.

Elsewhere, Doctor Tau observed the battle. The office building in Yamm's spaceport was fairly safe for now. The reapers had no long-range attack capability. Their destroyer was unmoving, its main gun soaking in the saltwater. But Tau knew the plan. This place wouldn't be safe much longer, and they were counting on that. They had maybe an hour before a reaper capital ship came to finish what the destroyer had started.

Time to go.

She picked up an OSD from her desk, and opened a channel on her transmitter. "This is Tau." She said. "Send the car."  
"Acknowledged." A man on the other end spoke.  
Walking out of the office, she stepped into an elevator, headed for the ground floor. She sighed. How long was she to go along with this? It felt like madness. Capture a reaper? Any force they kept near it would quickly be subverted. The Illusive Man was mad, and she was the instrument of his insanity. But she'd be out soon.

She stepped out of the elevator and hurried outside. The hovercar was waiting. The door opened as she approached, and she sat onto the back seat. She looked behind as the hovercar gained altitude. The citizens were dropping bombs on the destroyer out of cars now. They wanted it out of commission permanently.

The suit-clad driver was free to drive at maximum speed. People were either in shelters or on the shore containing the reaper attack. No one was driving right now. Cerberus had a research bunker outside the city. At maximum speed, without other drivers to worry about, the trip shouldn't take much time at all.

Soon, the car hovered into a garage a fair distance from the city. It was fairly inconspicuous, being mostly underground. Tau looked around as the car doors opened. The garage was fairly small for cerberus. It could have accommodated perhaps eight hovercars. Now there was only three. There was a raised platform in the back of the garage, with stairs leading up to it on either side. A single door led further in, flanked by two cerberus troopers. They were in full armor, clearly expecting trouble.

Tau stepped out of the car, the driver following her. She walked up the steps, flashing an id tag to one of the cerberus soldiers flanking the door. The trooper just nodded as she walked through the doorway. Those soldiers barely talked to anyone.

She walked down a stairway, leading to a short hallway. There was a metal door at the end of it with a plaque above it. The plaque had two simple words above it. "Operation Control."  
She opened the door. There were five other scientist already in the room. One was talking to a hologram of the Illusive Man.  
"Ah, Doctor Tau is here." The bald man in front of the hologram said. She walked next to the man.  
"Doctor Tau. Is everything going as planned?" The Illusive Man asked.  
"Not quite, sir." She said. "The citizens were not satisfied with merely shooting down the reaper destroyer. They've amassed militia, and they're bombing the crippled reaper as we speak. We do not have the forces needed to take control of the situation."  
"Then you take out the capital ship instead." The Illusive Man said.  
"Yes sir." Tau said. "If the reaper lands, the coming fleet should be able to disable it."  
"Good." He said. "I expect results shortly."  
The hologram disappeared.

Tau looked at the four scientists seated in front of the control panels. This operation was to be done with remotely controlled probes. They knew better than to let the reaper indoctrinate them. It would've put quite the cramp in any attempt to research the machine. She sat down in front of another control panel. Nothing to do now but wait for the fireworks.

The reaper had arrived. The machine sailed down towards the settlement below, shrugging off artillery fire as it went. There was nothing in the settlement of New Karnak that could challenge a Sovereign class reaper. But the Cerberus fleet, flying in from another system, could.

"Holy shit, did that thing just step on the spaceport?" Tau exclaimed, overlooking the carnage from a vantage point afforded by cameras. One of the other scientists just nodded grimly. The reaper horn blared throughout the city. She thought about Cerberus' plan. They were going to take the reaper out through orbital bombardment. The damage to the city would be massive. Then again, the city was lost the moment the reaper touched down on the planet's soil.

They watched as the reaper laid waste to the city. Husks were being seeded into the city as the reaper passed. The reaper had even taken out the surface to air cannons with a jet of molten metal. The reaper was invincible. The citizens were either fighting husks or running away. The cerberus fleet had cause to hurry. How long until the reaper noticed the cerberus bunker? She could vaguely see the panicking crowds. Remote video never did the terror justice. The reaper discharged its gun, melting street into slag.

Then, fire rained from the skies. The reaper buckled under the first volley, but only slightly. Tau couldn't even see the attacking fleet, but the reaper apparently could. The enormous metal frame leaned back on its tentacles and fired at the sky. The reaper horn blared once more as the return volley turned the reaper's surroundings into dust. Every miss further damaged the city. The flaming debris that was due to fall in a few hours probably wouldn't help matters.

Another volley of mass accelerator fire struck the reaper, further deepening the crater around it. The reaper was the more powerful of the two sides, but gravity was its worst enemy right now. Its hull couldn't withstand impacts like it could in open space, and its shields were operating at reduced power. An attempt to take off would only have weakened the reaper's defense further. But still, every five seconds, another cerberus ship became slag.

A lucky shot struck the reaper in the main gun, momentarily interrupting the streams of molten metal being fired at the sky. The ships above aimed another volley, finally overloading the machine's shields. Its position in the crater began to waver. It mustered another shot of its main gun before a volley brought it low. The reaper fell, smashing flat a two kilometer strip of the city. The fleet above fired a final volley, impacting with the reaper's undefended hull. They had won. 


	2. Awakening

The reaper had fallen far too close to the bunker. They couldn't use it as a research base. If they let the machine indoctrinate them, the whole effort would be a huge waste of time. The science team had been moved. Luckily, one of the cerberus frigates had contained similar facilities. They had landed over a hundred kilometers away from the reaper, and were now controlling probes from inside the frigate. The probes were crammed full of every kind of sensor imaginable, starting with most of the electromagnetic spectrum, and going from there. Their job was to analyze the reaper as thoroughly as possible.

They had opened the reaper's airlocks with lasers while cerberus forces mopped up the remaining husks. The probes were finally inside, and carrying excessive amounts of military grade explosives. On the scientists' direction, they floated through the dark corridors of the reaper's interior, planting bombs on anything that seemed important. If the reaper started to recover from its earlier bombardment, it could be destroyed with the push of a button.

"This place is creepy." Tau said, watching through the probe's cameras.  
"I hope they blow it up soon." The bald man next to her said.  
"Uh huh. I hope it doesn't have some kind of counter to this." She said, watching as the probe on the screen attached a bomb to one of the reaper's interior walls.  
"You could've kept that to yourself." The bald man muttered, suddenly a lot more interested in the contents of his control panel.

Tau opened the map the probes were collating from the inside. It was labyrinthine, with 270 degree turns in the hallways, open spaces that appeared to be twice their actual size and passages that looked slightly too small. It was as if whoever had handled the ergonomics of the design had gotten everything wrong on purpose. At least they weren't personally inside the thing.

Tau switched back to the cameras. There was little light except that which was emitted by the probes themselves. It dimly illuminated the black walls and the tubing running along them. She continued to direct the probe further down the hallway. It was strange that there were so few obstacles in the way.

The probe turned a corner, coming to face with a closed door. It was black and circular, a three meter diameter plate in the wall. There was no control panel. The probe did have a cutting laser however. The probe began burning through the door, slowly cutting a smaller circle out of it. The piece fell out and the probe floated through the hole into a short hallway.

The hallway opened into a massive hall. She could barely see the ceiling with the meager light of the probe. The probe floated on a catwalk in the side. Below the catwalk, there were yet more tubes, all going in the same direction. The probe continued moving, shining light ahead. She could see an enormous structure set in the middle of the hall. The tubing seemed to lead to it.

"I think this is the reaper core." Tau said, turning on the thermal sensor overlay. There was text on the overlay.  
"Shaped thermal signature: Invalid categorization."  
"Figures." Tau said. "Its eezo core emits far more heat than any of ours." She began typing, and more text emerged on the thermal sensor overlay.  
"Categorization accepted: Element zero core. Database: No match. Creating new entry. Error: Incomplete schematics. Entry incomplete." Tau closed the text feed on the thermal sensor overlay.  
"Try to direct the rest of the probes here." She said, marking her probe's position on the collated map. "This seems like the best place to start."  
"Understood, doctor." One of the women at the control panels said. The rest just nodded.

The probe circled over to a platform around the huge sphere. There was one console. The probe floated up to it. There did not seem to be a way to interface with it directly, and such might have been dangerous anyway. The probe held out a mechanical hand, and randomly pressed the console a few times.

"Wow, I'm actually getting output from this thing." Tau said, mimicking typing on a holographic interface shaped to match the reaper console. The probe followed her motions.  
"Too bad it doesn't make any sense." She muttered. reading the alien text on the screen.  
"I think I've found something." The bald man next to her said. "There's a lot of consoles here. According to the map I'm just above your probe."  
"Good. See if you can get something other than dead languages out of them." Tau said. She split her screen to watch her colleague's work with the other half. The screen in front of the bald man's probe was cycling through outputs faster than the eye could see.  
"Do you know what's going on?" Tau asked.  
"No idea, I just pressed a random button." He said. Tau briefly considered scuttling the reaper, but no. That could have been just an autonomous function. They could still scuttle it afterwards. Even functional, there was no way the reaper could withstand the 17 bombs planted inside it. Her probe had set its last one at the console in front of the mass effect core.

"Damn it!" The woman two seats over said.  
"What it is, Fairfields?" Tau asked.  
"Lost the probe to a husk. Now we have that to worry about." She said. Tau reached over to look at the screen. The probe's last sight was still categorized on the thermal sensor overlay.  
"Shaped thermal signature: Humanoid." She considered scuttling again, but no. Still not necessary. Husks were aggressive even without reaper guidance.  
"Have a look at this." The bald man said, typing on the console. He turned slightly towards Fairfields.  
"Console outputs, Worthing?" She asked.  
"Yes." The bald man said. "They change too fast to be read in real time."  
Fairfields turned to the console.  
"Gibberish, gibberish, gibberish." She muttered, paging through the outputs.

Tau continued trying to get sensible outputs from the core console, to little avail. The clock turned as the six scientists worked, three working on console outputs and three mapping the reaper and laying bombs. Suddenly, Fairfields' exclamation broke Tau's focus.  
"This is.. English?" Fairfields said, incredulous.  
"What?" Tau said as the rest of the team turned to look at Fairfields.  
"This output is in English." She said. "Sensor readings. It all looks quite familiar."  
"Why would a reaper display sensor readings in English?" Tau asked.  
"No idea, but that's what this is." Fairfields said. "On first glance, these seem to be the same types we use."  
"You know, why do the reapers even have user-interfaces?" Tau asked. "You'd think they wouldn't need them."  
"Probably for the crew." Worthing said. "Sovereign had one. Didn't actually need it, but still." Then he shrugged and turned back to his screen.

Tau did the same, looking through the probe's cameras. The core console still hadn't given her a sensible output. A single, thick vertical line appeared on the screen.  
"More nonsense?" Tau muttered. Still, she continued watching.  
There were more characters. It took her a second to register what she was reading.  
"I cannot be caged. I cannot be controlled."  
She saw more text from the thermal sensor overlay.  
"Shaped thermal signature: Humanoid." Then, nothing. The connection was lost. She turned to Worthing. His screen was likewise blank. She opened another screen.  
"Scuttle the ship!" Worthing shouted. Tau pressed a button on the screen. It read 'initialize detonation sequence'. The button disappeared, and the text read 'Detonation signal sent'. Tau picked up her transmitter.

"This is Tau, reaper awoke, launched detona-" She said, before suddenly realizing that there was no response but the incessant white noise of signal interference. She turned to the rest of the scientists.  
"I think," she said, "it survived that. I'm not getting a signal." The man on the far side of the console desk typed something.  
"Captain, this is doctor Hill." He said. "External comms are gone. Did we destroy the reaper?" He asked.  
"No." The woman's voice came from the speakers. "The reaper just rose up. Pilot, fly low, we'll escape when we have enough space to run without being shot down."  
"Damn." Tau said, sitting back down on her seat.  
"We're doomed, aren't we?" Fairfields said, slumping down in her seat. 


	3. A Likely Savior

Cerberus was not prepared. Those that had landed took to the skies again, and those that had remained in orbit took aim and fired once more. They had less than half of their original force, and it would not be enough. Already, it was clear that they would lose this time.

Doctor Tau watched the cameras. The attacks of the Cerberus fleet seemed much less impressive than last time, and the reaper seemed no weaker for its temporary loss. One by one, ships started falling from the sky. Then, the reaper turned.

Its main gun pointed directly at the frigate. The pilot turned the ship down, trying to disappear behind the horizon. The reaper fired, sending a jet of liquid metal directly at the frigate. The air around the pressurized jet ignited as the frigate desperately dove to avoid the baneful gun. It nearly missed, but the jet's long flight had allowed it to diffuse ever so slightly. A shockwave of burning air rattled the vessel as a merest fraction of the fiery jet's payload impacted with it, sending it careening into the ground below.

Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams sat down in the cramped captain's quarters of the Alliance stealth frigate SSV Asculum. It was no Normandy, but it was nevertheless a solid ship. And she knew she'd need it. Someone called Doctor Miriam Tau had contacted the Alliance, providing transcripts and recordings of the Illusive Man's orders. She had promised to turn any and all data over to the Alliance. And if the harebrained plan she had described had had any success, it could be very valuable data.

So the Alliance command had sent the best they could muster for the situation. The newly appointed Spectre Ashley Williams and a small contingent of elite marines. Now however, she was not working in her capacity as Spectre, but rather in that of Lieutenant-Commander, though both had influenced her assignment.

Their destination was New Karnak, Yamm, and she could expect both reapers and Cerberus. Doctor Tau would be trying to signal any Alliance ship she saw, so best not get too stealthy.

The Asculum shot through the relay, thrown countless light years closer to its destination.

Doctor Tau found herself pinned to the wall. Worthing had hit his head and laid unconscious, just shy of the door frame. Fairfields was gripping onto a table leg. The vessel shook violently, and she lost her grip. Hill had gotten thrown to the other side of the table. She couldn't see the last two scientists.

The burning ship crashed through to undergrowth, digging its prow another 20 meters through the ground. Finally, it stopped, having kicked up a trail of dust and fire behind it.

No longer pinned to the wall, Doctor Tau went limp and fell to the floor.

"We just cleared the relay. ETA five minutes." The pilot spoke into the internal radio system. Commander Williams pinned her hair back and clasped on the last piece of the red and white alliance navy armor. She turned around and walked over to the bridge. The pilot was not as armored as most marines, but armored nonetheless.

"Commander." He said, nodding towards Ashley before turning his attention back to his control panels. Ashley grabbed the microphone to the internal radio channel.  
"Everyone, keep a watch out for any flares or distress beacons. Anything that might lead us to Tau is worth checking. If there aren't any, target anything Cerberus." She said before setting the microphone down and turning to the window. The planet Yamm looked less like a sphere with each passing second. The Asculum entered the atmosphere and started to slow down. Quickly, New Karnak, or what was left of it, became visible.

"Damn, it's leveled." The pilot muttered. "I'll land in that crater." He continued, steering the ship towards the kilometer wide crater seemingly caused by orbital bombardment. Ashley continued looking at her surroundings. Suddenly, there was a flash to the left of the ship. A flare fired from the algal jungle outside the city.

"Flare." She said. "Change of plans. Land as close as possible to the source of that flare." She turned to the pilot.  
"Aye aye, commander." The pilot said, turning the Asculum towards the source of the flare.

Doctor Tau sat, watching the ship cameras with one of the few still functioning laptops on the ship. She had sequestered herself in a corner in the crew quarters. The pilot and the captain had both died in the crash, leaving a Cerberus centurion in charge. The centurion had promptly forbidden everything except sitting about, waiting for rescue. Rescue that would most likely never happen. Perhaps it meant 'sit about and wait for the husks' instead. Luckily, she had a backup plan. Her omni-tool rested in her lab coat pocket as she watched the cameras.

Suddenly, they showed something interesting. A frigate broke the clouds, painted in the colors of the alliance. Tau stood up immediately, beginning a determined walk to the bridge. There was one door in her way. One door, and a Cerberus trooper. He wouldn't let her in. She wasn't sure if the centurion was paranoid, or if he simply had orders. The soldiers never seemed too big on thinking.

"Doctor Tau." The soldier's voice resonated through the helmet. "The bridge is restricted. Lea-" His words were cut short. He had failed to consider the doctor a threat. She pulled her omni-blade out of his armor and opened the door. The Cerberus tech specialist had died in the crash, and the centurion hadn't known how to change the door codes. Luckily, she did. She picked up the soldier's sidearm and closed the door behind her. Then she opened the console next to it. She had all the door codes, and the ability to change them. She remotely closed the doors and switched the codes. It wouldn't stop the crew, but it would slow them.

Then she walked over to the control panel in the cockpit and launched a flare.

"There." Ashley pointed at the charred clearing around a crashed ship painted in the black and yellow of Cerberus. "That has to be it." She turned and pulled out her rifle as her helmet extended over her head, hustling over to the exit hatch. The Asculum was slowly lowering. Three Cerberus soldiers were outside their ship, and were now taking aim at Ashley and the three marines alongside her. One of the Cerberus troopers fired his assault rifle at the Asculum's hatch, but he didn't hit a particular target, and the few times he hit bounced off kinetic barriers. They drove for cover as Ashley and her marines started laying down fire around them, ducking behind the metal debris left from their spaceship crash. The most lightly armored one rose to take aim at Ashley, but was riddled with mass accelerator rounds before she could pull the trigger. Ashley turned her gun from the Cerberus sniper and dropped down, the marines following.

The two remaining Cerberus troopers rose up to fire as the three marines behind Ashley dropped down behind her. However, they were simply outgunned. Four more marines dropped down while the ones on the ground shot the last two troopers. Ashley looked at the still opened hatch.  
"Lucky. Won't have to do much of a breaching action." She said, walking forwards with her rifle trained on the entrance. She flicked open the floor plan of the frigate type with her omni-tool.  
"That flare was probably launched from the cockpit, and it's close to the hatch." Ashley said as the floor plan disappeared. She took the rifle in both hands and advanced.

A smoke bomb suddenly detonated at the hatch as gunfire began streaming out. The eight marines dove to the sides and trained their guns back on the hatch. One of them sidled up to the hatch and tossed a grenade into the hallway before ducking back out. The smoke wafted about as the grenade detonated, punctuated by a yell, unseen by the Alliance marines.

The cascade of gunfire from the hatch stopped.  
"That hallway is only ten meters." Ashley said. "That grenade should've taken out anyone in it. Move in."  
"Got it." One of the marines, a man whose features were hidden by his armor, said.

They rushed in, seeing the remains of a trooper with a cutting torch in front of a door. Pieces of a turret were strewn all over. It was a door leading to a bridge.  
"Daneson, breach that door." Ashley said. "Clear the door." She continued to everyone else. Then she heard a knock.  
"Who's there?" A wavering female voice said from the other side.  
"Alliance military." Ashley said. "Move away, we're blowing up this door." Daneson set the final charge and stepped away. She heard rapid footsteps from the other side. The smoke on the hatch was clearing, and the marines retreated back towards it. Daneson pressed a button, and a focused charge blew the door off its frame. Ashley waved away the smoke with her hand as she stepped into the open door. Hiding behind a navigational panel, she saw a woman, maybe in her late twenties, blonde hair in a ponytail. She was clad in a closed lab coat and was holding a pistol in one hand. The other held an omni-tool. Ashley lowered her rifle.

"Doctor Tau, I presume?" 


	4. Turncoats

Doctor Tau put the omni-tool in her lab coat pocket. She rose up from behind the navigational panel and breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Yes, I'm Doctor Tau." She said.  
"And I'm Commander Williams." Ashley said, extending her hand for a handshake. The doctor looked down at her right hand. The sleeve was splattered with blood. Nevertheless, she shook Ashley's hand.  
"Good to see you, but I don't think this is the time for introductions." Tau said. "We've got a bunch of troopers led by a paranoid, hidebound centurion, and they've been trying to kill me ever since I launched-" Her words were suddenly drowned out by assault rifle fire. "-That flare."  
Commander Williams turned towards the door, lifting the rifle.  
"Dimichenko, get the doctor to the ship!" She shouted, running out of the bridge with the doctor on her heels. One of her marines was leaning to a wall next to the corridor, clutching his side. He had been watching the corridor when Cerberus got their act together.

"Follow me, miss." Dimichenko said as he started to back out of the Cerberus vessel. Doctor Tau followed, though she still aimed her pistol at the corner where she expected Cerberus might come. One of the marines pulled the injured one up as they started to back away towards the entrance.

"Back outside." Commander Williams said. "They want Tau dead. They'll follow." She opened her helmet radio as she backed out. "All marines, out of the ship. We have Doctor Tau." She closed the radio channel and turned towards their rescuee. "How many do they have?" She asked.  
"They had thirty before the crash, but at least a third died there." She said as she continued backing away towards the SSV Asculum. The marines were now outside the Cerberus frigate, and were spreading out into the surroundings, each with a clear shot at the hatch. Tau was climbing into the landed frigate as Dimichenko granted cover. A smoke bomb detonated at the hatch. The marines started firing, but with the nonexistent accuracy of firing through smoke, they would most likely fail to penetrate any shields.

Three troopers appeared at the edge of the smoke cloud, each firing a shot in perfect unison. They were immediately targeted, but their grenades had found their marks. The marines dove for cover, but two were not quite fast enough. Fragmentation tore through armor and shield, and the two did not rise up again. Ashley began firing from her position along the outer hull of the Cerberus frigate, catching a trooper in the side. One turned towards Ashley, but was cut down by crossfire from the marines that had now risen from their positions behind the metal debris. The third stepped back into the smoke.

Ashley glanced at the entrance hatch of the SSV Asculum. Tau had gotten in. She was safe for now. The Cerberus trooper pushed out of the smoke for a second again, firing a grenade in Ashley's general direction. It was too far left to truly hurt her, but a bigger problem was now rushing toward her. A heavily armored figure was charging her, and the grenade blast was his cover.

"Neutralize Spectre Williams." Came a voice in electronic monotone. He was more heavily armored than the others, and he was holding a baton in his left hand, readied for an upwards swing. She met it with the stock of her rifle, wresting the baton downwards. She took a step forward inside the centurion's guard, swinging her elbow into his head. Her strike failed to fully connect, and the centurion raised the baton for a second swing. Williams placed her arm in the way of the centurion's, and instead swung with the left elbow. The centurion staggered backwards as Williams switched to a proper firing grip.

Then she fired, easily shredding through shield and armor. The centurion fell on his back, unmoving. Ashley dove into cover as more Cerberus troopers stepped into the smoke cloud. Suddenly, they all started moving, diving for cover. Two were shot in the attempt, but the rest reached cover. A third was picked off from cover by three marines in the Asculum's hatch. Cerberus only had seven left. Another two Cerberus troopers fell, but so did an Alliance marine fall to the ground, wounded. They continued firing. Cerberus was losing fast, but they didn't know the meaning of the word 'surrender'. The troopers kept falling, and finally only Alliance marines stood outside the ship.

Ashley looked around. Fifteen Cerberus soldiers lay strewn on the field. They couldn't have many left, though some of the Alliance marines were also wounded. One was checking on the marines hit by the grenades.  
"They're alive." The marine said, turning on a helmet radio. "Kinjo here. We need stretchers."  
Ashley turned back towards the hatch. "Daneson, Maruti, Ramirez, Morris, Rautiainen, Friedmann." She listed out. "Follow me, we'll clear the ship. The rest, take care of the wounded."

Flanked by six marines, Commander Williams walked back through the hatch.

First, they had found the med-bay, having killed two more cerberus troopers on the way. The room was empty, except for a one middle-aged man laying on a bed, unconscious. He was laying on his back, with hastily applied bandages around his head. He was still wearing a lab coat, bloodied to the shoulders. Ashley walked closer."He's breathing." She said. "Maruti, keep watch here."  
"Aye aye commander." Came the response.

Williams moved out with the rest of the group, turning a corner. The door to the crew quarters was open. Ashley took the front, stepping into the doorway. She saw two people, a man and a woman, both in lab coats, both on opposite beds. More importantly however, the woman was aiming a pistol at her. Williams raised her rifle as Ramirez and Rautiainen behind her did the same. The woman dropped the pistol.

She sighed, the voice of one perfectly resigned to her fate.  
"What are you here for?" She asked.  
"Cerberus." Ashley said. She didn't feel like divulging mission parameters to a person she knew nothing about. "Who are you?"  
"Cerberus. Obvious." The woman threw her hands up in the air. "I'm Janet Fairfields. A scientist." Ashley turned to the man on the opposite bed.  
"Jonathan Hill." He said.  
"Who's the man laying unconscious in the med-bay?" Ashley asked next.  
"Travis Worthing." Janet said. "Pretty bad head wound. Everyone else is dead, huh?"  
"Probably. The troopers all shot at us. You had more sense." Ashley said.  
"Maybe. This thing stopped being worth it a long time ago." Janet said. She rose up from the bed. "You're going to take us into custody anyway. Might as well get it over with."  
"Not too broken up about it, huh?" Ashley asked.  
"I watched the troopers toss the bodies of three of my friends into the jungle." Hill said. "This project doesn't matter anymore."  
Fairfields walked closer towards the marines.  
"Prisoners of war then?" She said.  
Ashley lowered her rifle, holding it in one hand. At least they were cooperative.

The three scientists, Hill, Fairfields and Tau, were sitting around a table in a room in the back of the SSV Asculum. An awkward silence hung over the room. A marine stood guard in the doorway.  
"Miriam.." Janet started.  
"What?" Miriam asked.  
"I don't know whether to thank you or punch you." Janet said. Jonathan kicked his chair slightly further away from the table.  
"Excuse me?" Miriam raised an eyebrow.  
"You sold out the entire operation." Janet spoke flatly.  
"Because it was insane." Miriam retorted.  
"Yes, maybe it was." Janet said. "And you called the alliance."  
"Who saved us all." Jonathan said.  
"Exactly." Janet said. Then she sighed. "Look, Miriam. I'm not going to fault you for choosing this. We all had our doubts. But to do this behind our backs..." She let the sentence trail off.  
"I couldn't risk someone reporting it." Miriam said. "And you know how many bugs Cerberus ships can hold."  
"True." Janet said. "It's all moot anyway. We can't return after this, and after seeing how their centurions act when put in charge... I don't think I'd want to."  
The three stayed silent for several seconds. Then Janet spoke again.  
"Did they say what's going to happen to us?" She said.  
"We don't actually matter much at this point, they have their data." Jonathan said. "But we are prisoners of war, I think." He then turned to Miriam. "Except you, being an informant."  
"They'll still keep me under watch." Miriam said. "I am Cerberus after all." She paused for a moment. "Was Cerberus."  
Janet shrugged and stretched in her chair.  
"I wonder if they'll give us access to that data. We were nowhere near finished with analysis." She said.  
"They probably have scientists they actually trust." Jonathan said. Miriam shrugged and rose up from her chair.  
"I think I'm going to lie down." She said, laying down on a bunk bed. "Coming off the adrenaline." She mumbled and closed her eyes.

It was time to make a report. Admiral Hackett had called for one. Ashley Williams sat down in the captain's quarters, and opened a channel."Commander Williams" Admiral Steven Hackett said. "Was the mission a success?"  
"Yes." Ashley said. "We have Tau and three other Cerberus scientists, though one was injured when we found him and hasn't woken up. We also took a bunch of their computers and disks. They have the data Tau promised, but it hasn't been analyzed yet."  
"What of Cerberus soldiers?" He asked.  
"Nothing useful from them." She said. "All of them shot on sight, and didn't surrender."  
"Unfortunate." Admiral Hackett said. "Cerberus has been gaining forces at an alarming rate. Nevertheless, admirable work, Commander."  
"Thank you, Admiral." Ashley said. "Hackett out." He said. The channel closed. Ashley leaned back in her chair. The mission was over, and it had been quick.

The SSV Asculum left the defeated planet of Yamm behind, flying back towards the relay.


	5. Small Victories

Travis Worthing tried to sit up. He had just awoken from his trauma-induced slumber. He could barely make out shapes, but still tried to look around. He could see something humanoid walking towards him. Then the world started to spin and he collapsed back on the bed.  
"Please rest. You have a cerebral contusion. That is, temporary brain damage. It should heal with time." The voice was male, and sounded as if it came from somewhere far away.  
"Where am I?" Travis asked. He closed his eyes to allay the dizziness. He wasn't thinking as clearly as usually, but still clearly enough to realize that this wasn't the med-bay of the SSV Dan-no-ura.  
"You are on the alliance frigate SSV Asculum." The doctor answered.  
"Not Cerberus?" Travis asked, still hazy.  
"No." The doctor said. "We moved you here from the SSV Dan-no-ura, along with everyone else who did not open fire."  
"The research team..." Travis trailed off.  
"We have Miriam Tau, Janet Fairfields and Jonathan Hill here on the ship. Everyone else either attacked us or was dead when we arrived."  
Travis opened his eyes again. It was still blurry. Everything was white. He wasn't sure if it was his actual surroundings or if his eyes were lying to him again. He closed his eyes again and lost consciousness.

"Operations Chief Kinjo reporting." Kinjo said, saluting to Commander Williams in front of him.  
"At ease." Ashley returned the salute. Both were now in slightly more casual attire, having removed their armor suits. "Now what's the issue?" Ashley asked.  
"It's the Cerberus frigate, commander." Kinjo said. "It's the old Varoun class."  
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Varoun class? Never heard of it." She said.  
"They were produced by Varoun Spacecraft after the First Contact War. They were rather hastily refunded after one ship killed its entire crew due to a static discharge. Then it turned out that every ship of the type had the same risk." Kinjo said.  
"And how did they get from there to Cerberus?" Ashley asked.  
"Well, they were returned to Varoun, who was basically bankrupt at that point. I'm guessing he later sold them to Cerberus."  
"So they left military craft for a private market." Ashley said.  
"Well, yeah." Kinjo said.  
Ashley sighed. "Why didn't they just have them fixed?" Ashley asked.  
"Reputation, I'd guess. Varouns represented a deathtrap at that point." Kinjo said.  
"Out of sight, out of mind." Ashley muttered. "But Cerberus was willing to take that risk?" She asked.  
"That, or they fixed it." Kinjo said.  
"I see." Ashley said. "I'll send this forward. Thanks for the heads up."  
"I'll see if I can uncover anything else." Kinjo said.

The two soldiers turned to their respective tasks. Ashley walked back towards her quarters. She still had work to do. Cerberus had become a thorn in the Systems Alliance military's side at a time when they really had more important things to deal with. Any information on their inexplicable military resources was useful in lieu of ways to actually combat the reapers. And perhaps she had found both on this mission. But now, she needed a break.

Walking into the captain's quarters, Ashley practically threw herself on the bed. As a commander, she knew the realities of their situation, and it was not a pretty picture. Their foe was without strategic weaknesses, had better equipment, and could swarm any location with husks. Most planets had no reapers attacking them anymore. Even their cobbled-together servants were often too much for the militaries. Cities, planets, people were being left to their fates simply because of a lack of troops. And though some had directed their efforts toward finding a superweapon that could threaten the reapers, nothing credible had come along. Perhaps the partial schematics the Cerberus scientists had recovered would be of some help, but when had war ever been fought in total lack of knowledge about the enemy's capabilities? Perhaps all it would mean was another dead reaper. An inconsequential victory in the face of greater defeat.

But defeatism never helped anyone. Getting this data to the Citadel was their new priority. Then the scientists could figure out what to do with it. There had to be something useful to be done with reaper data. And the reapers had suffered losses, though never enough to shake their military superiority. But it was enough to shake their invincibility. People had yet to lose hope, and neither should she.

She sat up and picked up a laptop. It was all quite confusing sometimes. Occasionally, orders were relayed in person, sometimes on the phone, and sometimes in text. This time, she had one in text. She opened it.

Spectre Ashley Williams.

The council is brewing something big. They have an assignment for you. Come see me in the Citadel Embassies C-sec office, and I'll explain the specifics.

Armando Bailey.

She stood up. Being a Spectre was starting to mean something. They were only a few hours away from the citadel. Hopefully the 'something big' was something that could help against the reapers. Ashley put the laptop back on the table and walked out of the room.

The Asculum shot through the relay, thrown countless light years closer to its destination.

Armando Bailey was sifting through reports on his computer. Ever since his promotion, his job had turned into paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. It felt like he had done more good as a captain in Zakera wards.

He saw the door open out of the corner of his eye, and turned from the computer. Commander Williams walked in. Armando pointed at a chair on the opposite side of his desk.  
"Commander, you got here fast." He said.  
"I was already on my way when I got the message." Ashley said. "Now, what's the issue?" She asked.  
"Right. You saw that cordoned off chunk of Presidium?" He asked.  
"Yes. C-sec everywhere. This has something to do with it?" She asked in response.  
"Yeah." Armando said. "They're there to keep prying eyes away from the construction site, though they really can't keep word from getting out for long."  
Ashley raised an eyebrow.  
"They're repairing the Conduit." Armando said. "They've been working on it for a few months now."  
"I see." Ashley said. "Why, and how do I fit into this?" She asked.  
"Well, they want a second way here. We've been expecting to reapers to make a move against this place ever since they showed up, and them succeeding would be bad news for everyone." He said. "We could always close the arms and starve everyone inside, but the Council would rather omit the last part."  
"And the cordon?" Ashley asked.  
"Don't want people to know." Armando said. "They figure that if this project becomes public knowledge, the reapers will catch wind and then the Ilos section is dust. That's where you're headed."  
"Anything more specific?" Ashley asked.  
"You have the authority to act as you see fit in defense of the project." Armando said. "Finally, Udina extended your command over the SSV Asculum." He paused for a moment, and began typing. "Actually, I'll just send the data to your omni-tool."  
Ashley looked at the cluster of holograms on her arm. "Right, if that's all, I have too many reports to make." She said.  
"You and me both." Armando said, turning back to his screen.

Commander Williams turned and walked out. There was still a lot of bureaucracy to handle. For starters, the former Cerberus scientists had to be turned over to someone. Admiral Mikhailovich was on the station, and he had the authority. She'd leave them, and the reaper data, with him. Then she'd relay the orders to her own soldiers. They could be back in open space tomorrow. A galactic war never really offered a lot of downtime. Finally, she'd have to familiarize herself with the Conduit project, or at least the parts of it relevant to her assignment.

The elevator door closed behind her as she began a rapid descent into the Presidium torus. 


	6. Standard Procedure

Miriam Tau rapped her fingers on the table. Officially, she was a witness under protection, and that was certainly a part of the story. Being in Alliance custody was going to put quite a cramp in any attempt to silence her.

However, her 'protectors' had also separated her from Fairfields, Hill, and the still hospitalized Worthing. She could guess what was up. The Alliance was trying to confirm her story from as many independent sources as possible, and she really couldn't blame them for that. Hopefully, once her claims proved to be truthful, the veil of suspicion would be lifted from her head.

She looked up from the table. The door on the opposite side of the room opened, and a dark-haired man in a military uniform walked in. He sat down on the chair on the other side of the table and extended a hand for a handshake. Miriam took it.

"Greetings, Miss Tau." He said. "I am Lieutenant Kairat Ayatov."  
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ayatov then." Miriam said. "I assume you're here to ask me about Cerberus? You already have our research data."  
"Yes." He said. "We hope that you will be cooperative."  
"Certainly." She said. "They will want to kill me whatever I say. I have no reason to lie."  
"And we shall ensure that doesn't happen." He said. "Now, what do you know about Varoun?"  
"Varoun?" She raised an eyebrow. "Marcel Varoun? I've worked with him. He led a project to modernize several ships at the Illusive Man's orders."  
"When was this, and where?" The lieutenant asked.  
"About two years back, on a Cerberus station in the Horse Head Nebula. Back then, it orbited Thesalgon. The last location I know of was around Therumlon. They may have moved it though."  
The lieutenant nodded in acknowledgement.  
"What else can you tell me about the station?" He asked.  
"It's called Minuteman station, and I think it's their primary shipyard. Cerberus keeps its members mostly in the dark. Varoun might still be there" Miriam said.  
The lieutenant nodded again.  
"I see. Now, about the tests you were conducting." He said.  
Miriam leaned back in her chair. It was clear this was going to take a while.

Commander Shepard walked into the main room of the Kodiak shuttle. Politics were beginning to test her patience. She had managed to call the leaders of three species to a summit, only for them to turn their gazes inward in defiance of a galactic crisis. Who wouldn't though? The war could extinguish the krogan if Wrex didn't get his cure, and the turians would never stop trying to save Palaven. She turned her gaze to the krogan.  
"This is the salarian homeworld we're headed to. They aren't used to seeing krogan here, so let's keep it simple." She said. "We land, get the females, and leave before anyone changes their mind."  
"I still don't trust a word they say." Wrex said.  
"Let diplomacy play out, Wrex. You'll get what you want." She said.  
"These females are the best and probably last hope for my people." He said. Then the shuttle's pilot spoke up.  
"Commander, I have the salarian base on sensors." He said.  
"Set her down." The commander said. The Kodiak shuttle started a steady descent towards the base.

The shuttle hovered above the landing pad. An instrument beeped in the cockpit.  
"Commander, salarian ground control says we don't have clearance to land." The pilot said.  
"Tell them the dalatrass authorized this herself." The commander said. Wrex grumbled from behind.  
"I knew they'd never keep their word." He rose up from his seat. "Let's see them try to stop a krogan airdrop." He whacked open the hatch of the shuttle. Shepard turned.  
"Wrex!" She shouted in his general direction. Then he jumped.  
"We have an unauthorized landing!" A salarian on the pad shouted as STG soldiers started moving toward Wrex. He rose up as two soldiers trained omni-tools on him.  
"And who authorized you to hold my race hostage?" He bellowed, smacking the two salarians against the wall with a biotic push. He pulled out a shotgun, but was stopped as he saw targeting lasers flicker on him. He looked up. Sharpshooters on the rooftops. Shepard jumped out of the Kodiak. The soldiers nearby pulled out guns. "Halt!" One shouted. A salarian, clad in black, jogged in amongst them.  
"Stand down! Hold your fire!" He shouted to his troops. "Commander Shepard, restrain your colleague." The soldiers kept pointing guns, but did not fire. "We only found out about this transfer a few moments ago." The salarian in black said.  
Shepard walked up.  
"Does salarian hospitality always come with sharpshooters? This is an insult to the Alliance." She said, pointing at the salarian.  
"Please understand, no matter what some politician might say, krogan are still considered a hostile race." The salarian said.  
"I wonder why." Wrex said.  
"However, on behalf of the Salarian Union, I apologize." He said. "But we must insist the krogan remain under guard."  
"And if we insist otherwise?" Shepard said.  
"You'll have another war on your hands." The salarian said. Shepard and Wrex glanced at each other.  
"Anything goes wrong and all bets are off." Wrex said, finally holstering his shotgun. The Kodiak landed behind. Shepard and the salarian walked forward.  
"I'm Padok Wiks, and I appreciate your understanding, Commander." He said. "With war on everyone's minds, our people are on edge. They could see a large alien futilely beat and smash against the containment shield of a salarian pod. Shepard looked at the salarian.  
"As you can see, this base contains sensitive information." The salarian said.  
"Does that include studying lost krogan?" Shepard asked.  
"The females were in poor health when we found them on Tuchanka." Wiks said. "They were brought here to stabilize their condition."  
Wrex walked down the stairs behind them, flanked by salarian soldiers.  
"This whole planet smells wrong." He said. Shepard turned back towards Wiks.  
"I'd like to see them." She said.  
"Of course. I'll need to clear you for the lower levels. Just follow me." He said, turning towards the elevator. As they walked, Wiks did something on his omni-tool. They came to the elevator.  
"Now take this elevator down, and someone will-" He was cut short by a beeping base-wide alarm.  
"Alert! Threat Condition Two has been declared. Scramble readiness teams." An announcement sounded.  
"What's happening?" Shepard asked. Wiks turned on his omni-tool again.  
"Systems indicate containment failure." He said. "Hurry, commander. Someone will meet you below." Shepard walked into the elevator, the door closing behind her.

The door opened again, and she came face to face with a familiar sight.  
"Shepard! Excellent timing. Good to have you here." The salarian in front of her said. It was Mordin.  
"Mordin?" Shepard extended a hand for a handshake.  
"Eyesight still sharp. Surprise understandable. Hadn't expected to return to work."  
"You're back with STG?" Shepard asked.  
"Special consultant. Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong." Mordin said. He leaned forward. Then they heard a crash. Shepard looked to her right.  
"Yahg on the loose!" Someone shouted. An announcement sounded.  
"Threat Condition Three has been declared. Live fire authorized." Shepard pulled out her shotgun and ran past the corner, Mordin fast on her heels. She could see the yahg, running at an STG soldier drawing a pistol. One salarian lay on the floor, having been smashed against a window. Three others took aim at the running yahg.

Switching her shotgun to one hand, she pulled her arms back. She pushed forward with one foot for speed as she practically negated her mass. She careened bodily into the yahg, causing the massive alien to stagger as her mass suddenly returned. The yahg turned with a raised hand, but Shepard promptly shot the creature. The point-blank range shot felled the creature, and she could see that it had already been wounded. One of the salarians ran for a terminal. Mordin turned toward another soldier.  
"How many are on the loose?" He asked.  
"All of the yahg, sir. Most of the vorcha and varren." The soldier said, holstering his pistol. Mordin and Shepard glanced at each other.  
"How?" Mordin asked.  
"Containment shields malfunctioned." The soldier said.  
Mordin walked towards the terminal, gesturing to Shepard.  
"Would be first time this has ever happened. Timing suspicious." He said.  
"I agree." Shepard said. "Someone might be trying to prevent the exchange. Let's get the females quickly."  
"Female." Mordin said. "Only one. Couldn't save others. Maelon's work left them with weakened immune systems." He pointed at one of the still intact containment pods. "She's there." He said. They walked over.  
"Please be careful. Krogan slow to trust." Mordin said. Shepard stepped up to the heavily covered krogan behind the containment shield.  
"I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy." She said.  
"Are you here to kill me?" The krogan asked.  
"Urdnot Wrex and I are here to take you home." Shepard said.  
"Why? What am I to you?" The krogan asked.  
"You're the key to a truce between the krogan and turians." Shepard said.  
"So I'm useful to you." The krogan said.  
The warning beeps continued. Shepard glanced at her omni-tool. It was playing its own sequence of beeps. She pressed a button, and Wrex appeared on a holographic viewscreen.  
"Shepard, it's Wrex. Some sort of alien came up here and started attacking. I took it out. What the hell is going on here?" He asked.  
"All of their yahg got free." She said. "Their containment systems failed."  
"Like hell they did!" Wrex said. "Get the females out of there now!"  
"There's only one, Wrex." Shepard said.  
"Damn it! Get her out before the salarians find an excuse to kill her too!" Wrex said. His image disappeared.

Shepard turned to the salarian in front of the terminal.  
"Release the female. We're leaving." She said.  
"I can't." The salarian said. "Protocol states during lockdown no specimen-" He was cut off by a strong electric shock. Mordin stood behind him, holding his omni-tool.  
"Objection noted." He said. "Now, please release krogan." Shepard looked at him, and saw another salarian. He drew a gun.  
"Mordin!" Shepard exclaimed. The salarian pointed the gun at Mordin's head.  
"Sir, you are contravening protocol. Please step away before I must carry out my orders." Shepard pulled out her shotgun. Another salarian took aim at her.  
"Orders? Whose?" Mordin asked, slowly lowering his omni-tool.  
"I cannot say." The salarian behind him said. "Now step away, or I will fire." Mordin seemed to comply. He moved his right foot, but suddenly spun in place. The salarian fired just as Mordin struck him in the upper arm, causing the shot to go wide. Mordin grabbed the gun with his left hand and pushed, dropping the salarian to the floor. Then, Mordin pointed the gun at him in turn. The other soldier changed targets, seemingly trying to get a shot at Mordin. Suddenly, Shepard fired, and he dove for cover instead. Then she pointed the shotgun at the salarian in front of the terminal.  
"Release the krogan." She said. He complied, and a door opened next to the containment pod.  
"Cannot bypass quarantine procedure." He said meekly. Mordin started slowly backing away from the soldier he had knocked down, walking into the chamber.  
"Must monitor pod." He said. "Take the elevator up, meet us at the next checkpoint." The pod started a slow ascent. Shepard nodded and turned to the three salarians.  
"Drop your weapon!" She yelled at the salarian still crouched behind another terminal. "And stand up!" She heard a clink, and the salarian rose with his hands up.  
"I warn you commander." The salarian still on the floor spoke. "You've attacked the STG. This will cost you." Shepard glared at him.  
"The dalatrass promised us the krogan." She said. "And I refuse to let your procedural bullshit interfere with this." She started walking back towards the elevator. "If anyone else tries to stop us, I'll shoot them." The elevator door opened, and she stepped in. The doors closed and she pushed a button. One floor up. Mordin would be waiting. 


	7. Never Simple

"Displeased: This vessel does not have aroma synthesizers." The elcor captain spoke into the ship's internal speaker system. "Reassuring: I understand some of you may be confused by our current situation." The elcor continued in a dull monotone. "As you know, the turians were shipping this eezo to a project, until their regretful deaths trying to protect their stores. We are going to Ilos." He said. "With pride: We are participating in a project for the betterment of the war effort. Our expertise is needed to see this shipment through. Soon, we will rendezvous with the human Spectre Ashley Williams. She and her marines will make sure we arrive safely." Captain Torik shut down the internal radio channel. They all had some difficulty adjusting to the pace of the war effort. First, they had been shipping refined eezo to the turian military. Then, all of a sudden, reapers had attacked the system, and the original staff of their ship had died ensuring that the eezo got to Ilos. Torik and his elcor had been the only other crew available that could handle such massive stores of eezo.

Even though they had all, quite impulsively, volunteered, there was a lot to get used to on a turian ship. Turian ships only had around one fourth of normal gravity. Some doorways were inconveniently narrow, and the lavatories were quite difficult to use. Finally, they had to renew their food stores. They had managed to salvage some from their own ship before it was overrun, but most of the food was still dextro, and thus useless. If they were to continue shipping to Ilos, they'd need more food.

He walked towards the elevator just as the door opened. His chief engineer slowly walked out.  
"Captain, you wanted to talk to me." The engineer said. Torik could smell the implicit question..  
"Yes. I want sensors and clocks set to Dekuuna units." Torik said. "And could you do something about the gravity?"  
"I can do the sensors and clocks, but the gravity?" The engineer said. Now Torik could sense a 'no' appended to the sentence.  
"This ship isn't designed for that." The engineer said.  
"Fine then. Let the gravity be." Torik said. "Back to work." The elcor stepped back into the elevator, and the door closed.

"Telemetry data indicates this is our ship." The pilot said, looking at a screen drawing a composite image of a small turian freighter.  
"Good." Commander Williams said. "Hail it." She stood still for a few seconds as the pilot adjusted hailing frequencies.  
"This is Commander Williams, captain of the SSV Asculum." She spoke. After a short silence, she heard a response, spoken in monotone.  
"Formally: This is Acting-Captain Torik of the Cracigo. Greetings to the honorable marine." The elcor captain spoke. Ashley nodded, though Torik had no way to see it.  
"Nearly at the relay. We'll meet on Sanctum, acting-captain Torik." Ashley said.  
"Agreement: Yes, Commander Williams." Torik said. The channel was cut, and the ships sped through the relay, one after another.

Torik watched as new readings appeared on the screens on the bridge. The alliance vessel was a few thousand kilometers behind them due to relay drift. The Cracigo accelerated to faster-than-light speeds. They had only come here to resupply, then they would get back out. Apparently, the Alliance had some sort of arrangement with a settlement on Sanctum.

The Cracigo swooped into orbit, looking for the correct approach vector. The SSV Asculum followed behind. Captain Torik watched as they neared the clouds, accelerating further toward the planet. Then, the ship was hit. It buckled, but the kinetic barriers held. Torik rushed to the bridge.  
"What was that?" He asked the pilot.  
"Defense cannons from the settlement below." The pilot said. The ship shook, and Torik found his considerable mass almost rising to the air. Then, the ship stabilized, and he was back on solid floor.  
"Core almost overloaded." The pilot continued. Torik could smell his frantic efforts to keep the ship stable. "Pirates. Has to be."

Torik smacked a panel, opening a channel to the SSV Asculum.  
"Urgently: It's Torik, our ship can't handle this much longer." He spoke. Then the ship shook again, and the bridge went dark. Torik and the pilot stood in silence for a second.  
"Shields overloaded." The pilot said. Then the panels lighted up again. The lamps turned back on, highlighting the unfortunate reality of their current nosedive. Torik opened the channel to the SSV Asculum once more.  
"Alarmed: Shields are out. We are falling." He said.  
"We're drawing their fire. Try to land." Ashley said from the other side. The SSV Asculum accelerated downwards, passing the descending Cracigo. The surface-to-air cannons opened fire on the Alliance frigate, but military kinetic barriers could withstand the impacts much better than civilian ones.

The Cracigo descended in a spiral path, trying to get out of the surface-to-air cannon's killzone. It slowed with each passing second. The small town was becoming identifiable, and so was the gun tower firing at the descending ships. Ships had landed on one side of town. Merchant vessels, apparently modified. Standard pirates. They never had proper military ships. They just slapped weapons, armor and stronger shields on merchant vessels, most of them stolen in the first place.

The SSV Asculum slowed down, allowing the Cracigo to move past it. They were no longer within the cannon's firing arc. The pilot started righting the vessel. Torik could smell a deep sense of self-satisfaction.  
"Just pretending." The pilot said, slowing down for a landing on the other side of the city. The SSV Asculum followed.  
"Looks like we'll have fight our way through." Ashley said from the other end of the channel. "Keep back once we land."  
"Confidently: No need." Torik responded. "We would not have gotten this far shipping to colonies without knowing how to defend ourselves. We have shoulder mounted guns."  
"In that case, I won't turn down help." Ashley said.  
"Professional: I must prepare the crew. Excuse me." Torik said, changing to the ship's internal channel.  
"Urgently: Crew. Arm yourselves in the cargo bay. We must clear this place of the pirates before we can resupply. Follow Commander Williams' orders." He closed the channel, and started walking toward the elevator.

The door opened, and Torik stepped into the large hall. There were three other elcor there already. Their armor and weapon harnesses were rather light, but still useful. And they were fairly easy to don. Torik stomped over to a locker, and raised one hand to the knob, pulling it open. There were several pieces of dark red armor, designed to extend and clasp to each other. He took out the pieces, and set one to the floor. Then he slowly laid on top of it, and placed another on his stomach. They fit together, settling into a shell around his body. Then he took two curved strips of ceramic, metal, and plastic, placing them around his hindlimbs. They circled around, and extended covering over his feet, before joining with the shell around his torso. He grabbed another piece, to be fitted around his shoulders. The weapon harness. He pulled it over his arms, and slowly rolled to his side, the weapons extending into usable forms over his shoulders. Then, he pulled two more strips of armor over his arms, encircling them. They joined with the harness and piece on his back, extending to cover his hands. Then he rose up. A visor dropped over his eyes as the harness and torso components extended to provide a helmet.

He was ready to fight.

Commander Williams adjusted her helmet visor. It was a small settlement composed mostly of closely stacked prefabricated buildings. With the right zoom setting, she could make out detail as far as the other end of the town. The pirates had landed at the west side of the town, and pushed locals to the anti-air tower. Then they had taken control of it. She could see a group of them, herding humans into the tower. The pirates were mostly batarians, and they had the operation well underway. Inconvenient. It meant they'd have a large supply of hostages.

She looked back down at the street. A larger group of pirates was approaching. There were fifteen of them. Again, mostly batarians. A few turians and humans. One asari. They couldn't be stupid enough to think that'd be enough to take out two crews. There was another group nearby. There had to be. She opened her helmet radio.  
"Find sniper positions. Report if you see any more pirates." She said. Then she switched channels to Torik and his crew.  
"You've got fifteen pirates heading your way. Ready?"  
"With assurance: My crew is armed and ready to go." Torik said. Ashley looked back at the ships. The Cracigo's cargo bay had opened and the elcor were walking out. She didn't like trusting in the fighting capability of a group she knew nothing about, apart from their own statements, but it was an acceptable risk. Besides, if Torik was any good, he and his crew would mince the pirates. They couldn't be expecting elcor.

She saw them enter the main street in a line. Each and every one of them had an open line of fire to anyone else on the street. There were over a hundred meters between the two groups. Both opened fire, but the pirates' shots were drowned out by a hail of automatic fire from shoulder-mounted guns. Torik had a massive advantage in sheer firepower. The pirates scampered into the doorways of the prefabricated buildings, two of them already bleeding out. Ashley hefted her sniper rifle. Her scope caught the asari, ducking in a doorway. She could see her rise up and adopt an exaggerated pose, swinging one of her arms back. They were all biotics. That could cause a problem for Torik.

A well-placed bullet pierced her head, and Ashley jumped off the prefab building.

Commander Shepard stepped over the varren she had just shot. The containment failure was plenty real, even if it might have been manufactured. She strolled over to the control panel, shotgun still in hand. She glanced at Mordin, still standing in the chamber on the left side of the pod.  
"One tried to approach panel. Forced to run from vorcha. Suspect attempt to send us down." He said. Shepard nodded, manipulating the controls with her left hand. The pod started moving again. Then, suddenly, they heard an explosion. The room went dark and the pod stopped in its track, suspended half a meter above the floor.  
"Son of a..." Shepard started. "They actually bombed their own power lines to stop us."  
"Already wrecked other projects. This not a surprise." Mordin said. Shepard smacked the dead control panel. She allowed her omni-tool to illuminate her surroundings. The containment shield in the krogan's pod was gone, but she was still stuck in a metal straitjacket. And without the systems online, there was no way to open it. The systems that had just been blown out of existence. They'd have to cut her out.

She heard growling from the dark. More varren. Mordin pulled out his omni-tool.  
"Can you get her out of there?" Shepard asked.  
"Will take some time." Mordin said. "Worried about what else will happen. Perfect time to kill krogan." He said, stepping into the pod itself. Shepard nodded and opened a channel to Wrex. The holographic krogan illuminated the darkness.  
"Wrex! We have a bit of a problem here. Someone bombed the power lines. The female is stuck." She said.  
"What?" Wrex shouted. "I'm coming down there!"  
"Good." Shepard said. "The varren are getting aggressive." She scanned her surroundings on night vision. Several varren, and she was essentially cornered. They must have been released when the power disappeared. She looked back at the holographic krogan. He was snarling at someone.  
"I dare you to stop me!" He shouted. Shepard heard a loud thump. "I'm coming Shepard!" He continued, closing the channel. She hoped he could find the emergency exits. Then she called her pilot.  
"Cortez!" She started. "Get into the air, we can't trust the salarians anymore." She said.  
"Aye, aye, commander." He said. She closed the channel.

She turned to see the first varren leap at her. She fired, and it fell limp at her feet. She aimed at the group of varren. They growled, shuffling in the darkness. She could see the creatures tense up. She could handle herself, but protecting Mordin and the krogan could prove difficult. She hoped nothing more dangerous than varren would show up. They seemed mindlessly aggressive, even for natives of Tuchanka. She glanced at Mordin. He was slowly slicing through through the krogan's restraints. She looked back at the varren. The pack had stopped shuffling. She could barely see their faces. One of the creatures took a tentative step forward, only to be shot.

As if of one mind, the varren charged. Shepard tossed them aside with a single gesture, watching as the disorientated creatures picked themselves up from the floor in the wake of her biotic push. She leveled her shotgun once more. She had promised to shoot anyone who tried to stop her.

And that she would do. 


	8. Security Failure

Jonathan Hill had been wrong. He had said that the Alliance would eventually discard them, in favor of those they actually trusted. It had been a lucid prediction. It had also been very wrong. In hindsight, it should've been obvious. How many scientists did the Alliance have access to who could study and understand reaper data? Hill, Fairfields, Travis and even her were uniquely specialized in both the practical and theoretical sides of spacecraft engineering, and they were the authors of the data the Alliance now had. Despite having been Cerberus, they were too useful for the project to be passed up. It was the kind of convenience that erased pasts and wiped slates clean of crimes.

But that didn't mean her colleagues weren't suspicious. Though they were willing to put their ideological beefs with Tau to the wayside in favor of more pressing concerns, their regard for her was never anything better than coldly professional. In fact, apart from Hill and Fairfields, she best got along with one of the salarians sent into the project. He seemed like an open minded fellow, and curious to boot. She had often seen him get lost in the scientific marvel of what he was doing, staying up nights to analyze data. She wasn't sure what part of that was him and what part was just salarian physiology. It was as if he had forgotten the reaper threat, and just wanted to know how the machines worked.

Tau approached her workstation. The salarian, Arlan Velyn, was already there. "Morning, Doctor Tau," he said. "Was simulating reaper systems. It's not complete, of course. Not remotely enough data for that. Still managed to get something from all your heat scans."  
"Morning," Tau said after listening to Velyn's explanation. She leaned in for a look. It was a digital representation of a reaper, down to the last tentacle. There was a partial internal map, the same they had collated, she realized. There were various data points, primarily heat signatures.  
"Would be better if we had some actual reaper parts to test on," Velyn commented. Miriam frowned. She had had enough of reaper tech for a lifetime. Still, Velyn was right, and he'd get his wish soon enough.  
"Actually, they're going to send parts of Sovereign here," she said.  
"Excellent!" Velyn said. "Need to test reaper materials."  
"Just don't get indoctrinated or something," Miriam mumbled.  
"Hmmm.. interesting question." Velyn placed one three-fingered hand on his chin. "Dead reapers allegedly indoctrinate. Reaper artifacts indoctrinate. I wonder what part of a reaper is needed for indoctrination." Velyn scratched his chin. "Maybe Sovereign's parts still have some capacity to indoctrinate. Interesting." Miriam her hands up in the air, at head level.  
"God! Forget I said anything," she said. "Anyway, Janet wanted help in identifying its propulsion, so I'll have to go. See you later, Doctor Arlan."  
"Need to collate my findings. See you soon, Doctor Tau," Velyn said.

"Menacing interrogation: Who is your leader? What are you here for?" Torik stood over the batarian pirate, shoulders hunched to point both of his shoulder mounted guns at him. The batarian's gun laid 5 meters away, having been tossed there when Torik had punched him. The batarian tried to back away on his elbows. Torik stamped on his foot with his hand. The batarian yelped.  
"It's Gahar Sa'khori!" The batarian said, four eyes glancing in various directions. "It's just a slave grab!"  
"Irritated rebuke: We are in a reaper invasion, and you're pirating?" Torik said, shifting his weight slightly closer to the batarian.  
"It's none of our business!" The batarian shifted back a little more.  
"Furious: It's everyone's business," Torik said, punctuating his monotone by smashing his forelimb into the batarian's jaw, causing him to scream. Torik turned on four limbs, walking out of the prefab building. He turned to the nearest elcor, still exuding the telltale scent of righteous indignation.  
"Ozun, please watch the batarian," he said. Torik opened his helmet radio. Ashley answered from the other end.  
"This is Commander Williams. Any updates?" she asked.  
"With diminishing indignation: It's Torik. I got something from that stupid batarian," he said. "Their leader is someone called Gahar Sa'khori, and they're gathering slaves," he continued. "Flabbergasted: He also thinks that the reapers aren't their problem."  
"I see," Ashley said. "Have you encountered trouble?"  
"With renewed composure: We only have three prisoners. The rest are dead. They are easy to keep watch over," he said.  
"Good," Ashley said. "Now get back to the ships, they'll be attacking there soon."  
"Understood," Torik said, closing the channel.

Then he heard a crunch. He turned around to look, and saw Ozun, who had stepped on the batarian's chest with his right forelimb. The batarian gurgled as the massive elcor shifted more of his weight on the forelimb. Torik heard another crunch. Ozun stepped off as the batarian's four eyes rolled back. Ozun turned, looking at Torik.  
"He was reaching for his gun," Ozun said. Torik smelled the air. Completely unapologetic. He decided he wasn't going to question it.  
"Everyone, back to the ships," Torik said. "Bring the two prisoners, we will figure out what to do with them later."

With that, he started stomping back down the street.

Commander Williams had only left four marines in sniper positions. The rest would accompany her on a full frontal assault. She estimated that she was probably outnumbered about ten to one. Still, she had 10 soldiers behind her with four more on rooftops, and they were all special forces. In contrast, she was fighting undisciplined and poorly equipped pirates. Most of them wouldn't even have shields.

They had managed to take cover in a prefab building near the AA-tower, and as far as she knew, they hadn't been detected. They'd simply have to cross a small clearing to the tower and the adjacent militia building. One of her marines, Daneson, looked through the window into the clearing.  
"They're smoking," he said. Ashley nodded.  
"Move out," she said.

The eleven soldiers streamed into the central street, rushing into the clearing. They started shooting, and the two batarian guards were dead before they even noticed the marines. They had about 40 meters to cover to get to the door of the dull gray cylinder that was the AA-tower. Ashley glanced up at the small, broken windows. They had turrets propped up on the windowsills, but no-one manning them. Only ten meters to go.

The door opened, and a batarian peeked out. Four marines opened fire immediately, but slightly too late. "Alliance!" the batarian shouted before falling to the ground. Ashley cursed under her breath as she stomped over the pirate, followed by ten other marines. They were losing the element of surprise. They had stepped into an semicircle of a room, and were standing next to the only straight wall on the floor. On the opposite side were spiral stairs up, and to the right, embedded in the circular wall, was an elevator.

Ashley's years of combat experience kicked in. There were fifteen opponents. 11 batarians, 3 turians and an asari. All were drawing pistols and submachine guns. Ashley fired, killing a turian just before he could level his weapon on a marine. The shimmering blue field of the asari died with her as another marine opened fire. One of the batarians tried to make his way up the stairs. He was wearing a helmet.

"Recall everyone! The tower is-" Ashley shot him before he could complete his sentence. It was over in seconds. Most of the pirates hadn't gotten the opportunity to draw their guns. Ashley looked around the room. None of the pirates were moving. A coathanger crashed down in front of the stairs. She walked over to the door in the dividing wall, opening it. It was a control room of some kind. The consoles were still functional. None of the bullets fired had struck them through the wall. Ashley turned around.  
"Kinjo. What can you do with this?" she asked. Kinjo pushed past a few of his fellow marines to the console.  
"I'll see, Commander," he said, leaning over to type on the console. A hologram sprung up above the console, filled with text.  
"I could shoot at the sky or turn off the lights," he said.  
"We have night-vision," Ashley said, "they probably don't."  
"Yeah, so," he started, "wait a second." A list of devices filled the hologram.  
"They've synced this tower up to their ship's internal network," he said.  
"Anything unsecured?" Ashley asked. Kinjo typed for a few seconds.  
"Yes. Their coffee makers," he said. Ashley raised an eyebrow.  
"Is that any use?" she asked.  
"It can send error messages," Kinjo said. One appeared on the hologram.  
"Error: Coffee temperature violates interplanetery safety standards."  
Kinjo smiled.  
"Now I have their central computer. They're not going anywhere for a while," he said. "And now, lights out." The tower darkened abruptly. Ashley switched on her night vision.  
"Let's go," she said.

Torik watched the ship's external cameras. Commander Williams had said that a second attack was inevitable, but so far, he couldn't see anything. He switched through the various cameras, until he spotted an approaching dust cloud, its source obscured by prefabricated buildings.  
"Something is coming this way," Torik said, addressing the dozen other elcor in the cargo bay. He kept watching the streets. A large machine appeared, turning a corner. It was several meters in length, but only about two in height. Torik opened a channel to the pilot.  
"Plotting: Open the cargo bay doors and keep us afloat at a few meters," he said. The doors opened, and Torik could now see the approaching mining machine with his own eyes. It was accelerating. Likely, the pirates had stolen it and intended to ram in the doors with it. The elcor gathered at the ramp, watching as the machine approached.  
"Open fire," Torik said, hunching his shoulders to point his weapons at the vehicle. The elcor fired their gatling guns in unison, but the machine kept coming. It was two dozen meters from the ramp when the ship started rising. Torik's visor zoomed in on the vehicle. The metal surfaces were littered with tiny holes, but it was still moving. He doubted any of the shots had actually penetrated the thick metal shell. The machine disappeared beneath the hovering Cracigo.

Suddenly, kinetic barriers enveloped the ship. The pilot's monotone sounded through the systems.  
"Alarmed: They have rockets," he said. Torik mumbled a curse. They didn't have any anti-material equipment on board. He opened a channel to the SSV Asculum.  
"Request: Can you do something about this?" he asked.  
"Already on it," came the response, "we have anti-materiel rifles."  
"Relieved: We will land," Torik said, changing back to the Cracigo's channel.  
"Land," he said to the pilot. The ship began descending just as the mining machine drove out from under it. A hatch opened in the SSV Asculum. There was only one marine. He set a tripod mounted rifle to the floor. Then he fired.

The elcor stormed out of the cargo bay, opening fire on the mining machine just as one batarian rose up from a round hatch with a submachine gun. He ducked back down, and the marine kept firing. The vehicle stopped dead. Another two shots, and smoke began to climb out of the hatch. Then the batarian came up, throwing his hands up in surrender.  
"We surrender!" he shouted. Torik walked closer, weapons still readied.  
"Smirking remark: Wise choice, batarian," he said.

"Can you take it from here?" Ashley asked the man standing next to her. He was apparently a local manager for the mining operations in the small town, and the closest the place came to a local leader. Mot of the relevant government was based in another nearby town.  
"Sure. We have people coming in from Cuon. They have the facilities for this kind of thing," he said.  
"Good," Ashley said, "I'll have my marines watch the prisoner exchange."  
"Much appreciated, Commander," the manager said. Ashley walked out of the militia building. She still had to find the people responsible for resupplying the Asculum and the Cracigo. She sighed. Hopefully there would be no more delays before reaching Ilos. They were late enough already.

Arlan Velyn sighed. Despite his dedication to science, he could never escape politics. Though Dalatrass Arlan had no incentive to sabotage the project, they had still sent a spy. As far as any Dalatrass was concerned, they could never gather enough intelligence. He picked up a personal datapad and started typing.

_Requested Report on Alliance project 'Sickle'._

_In the few days I have been here, I have noted some unexpected occurrences in this project. The Alliance was able to, in no less than two days, send this facility approximately 730 kilograms of Sovereign's wreckage. In addition, they appear to have gained their data from an operation launched by Cerberus, which I understand was brought to them by traitors of that organization. Those same people are currently working on this project. Thus, we must acknowledge the possibility that there is more than one spy in this operation, though all three former Cerberus operatives seem innocuous. Notably, most scientists within the alliance seem to avoid contact with former Cerberus operatives. This lack of trust in colleagues is liable to hinder the project._

_Attached are what we have discovered so far, both as raw data, and in collated form. So far, we have been advancing at an excellent pace._

_On an unofficial note, I question the wisdom of my posting here. This is information that the Alliance will publicize anyway, as it would be useful to the war effort in general. In addition, spy operations at a time like this endanger our relations with the humans, for no identifiable benefit._

_However, in spite of my misgivings, I will continue to do my duty to clan Arlan here._

_Doctor Arlan Velyn._

Velyn sent the report. Perhaps adding his note to the end had not been the wisest of decision, but he had felt the need to air his complaints. Maybe someone would listen to him, though it was unlikely.

Pushing such musings out of his mind, Velyn stashed the datapad and got back to work.


	9. Uncaged

Shepard stepped closer to the krogan female, trying to keep the varren in her sights. The krogan tried to move her legs.  
"Can't you move any faster, Mordin?" she asked.  
"No," Mordin said, "must be careful, could cause severe damage if I slip."  
"Better than being eaten by varren," the krogan muttered.  
"I have it under control," Shepard said, shooting another varren between the eyes as it rose up from the floor. Six left. They started running at her. Mordin aimed a gun and shot one. Shepard fired her shotgun, causing another to fall before reaching her, but the telltale beep of an overheated weapon dissuaded her from firing again. She forced another varren down mid-leap with her biotics, stepping on its neck. She smashed another on the head with the butt of her gun as it tried to bite her.

The fifth managed to get closer, biting into the arm she raised to defend herself, though failing to pierce through her armor. Its jaws loosed as she smashed her weapon into its torso, and it dropped to the ground. One left. It was 3 meters from her, poised to leap. Then, it fell limp and dropped to the ground, laid low by a bullet through the head. Shepard looked for the source. There was a silhouette to her left, the two horns marking it as salarian. It approached, and another, much larger silhouette became apparent behind it. They stepped closer, and Mordin's omni-tool illuminated them.

"Wiks?" Shepard asked, looking at the salarian in black. Then she identified the larger from.  
"Wrex needed directions," Wiks said.  
"I was expecting you'd be in on this," Shepard said.  
"Hah! If he was, I'd have eaten him," Wrex said.  
"Yes," Wiks said, glancing in the krogan chief's direction, "I don't doubt that."  
Wrex looked at Mordin, who was still kneeling in the pod, slicing through the female krogan's restraints.  
"How long is this going to take?" Wrex asked.  
"A few minutes," Mordin said as a piece of metal fell to the floor. The female krogan stretched one leg.  
"Please be still," Mordin said, "don't wish to cut you." She made a grumbling sound, and stood still.  
"One of the soldiers said he had orders whose source he couldn't say," Shepard said, "do you know anything about this, Wiks?"  
"No," Wiks said, "the only orders I've gotten were about freeing her."  
"Orders likely only sent to ones perceived as loyal," Mordin said, never moving his eyes from the krogan's restraints. "Many who could disobey, hinder execution. But would need trusted underling to carry this out."  
"Lieutenant Tolan sounds likely," Wiks said, "and if so, the command probably came from within Linron," he continued. Wrex harrumphed.  
"So she betrayed us already," Wrex said.  
"Don't know," Mordin said, "too little data. Must focus on getting female out of here." Another chunk of the restraints fell to the floor with a clang. Then two krogan feet hit the floor with a thud.  
"Then where are they?" Shepard asked, "if they wish to kill her."  
"Preparing ambush maybe," Mordin said, "surprised no bombs from shaft," he continued, looking up at the elevator shaft the pod was suspended in.  
"The freed test subjects would only make that harder to accomplish," Wiks said.  
"Then poorly, hastily planned," Mordin said, standing up to cut the restraints from the krogan's torso.  
"Maybe they were hoping we wouldn't force the issue," Shepard said, scanning the darkness.  
"And when you did, they had to adapt," Wiks said. "Makes sense."  
Shepard's omni-tool lit up.  
"Cortez," she called the Kodiak pilot, "any movement around the landing pad?"  
"They're in sniper positions on the roofs, at least ten," Cortez said from other end off the comm link. "A bunch of vorcha found their way up. They got shot pretty quickly."  
"Damn," Shepard said, turning to Wiks. "Is there another way out?" she asked.  
"Only into the jungle, and that route is even easier for snipers," he said.  
"Then we'll just have to do this the hard way," she said.

There had been no resistance, apart from the odd varren, since they had left the pod. It was clear that the salarians were banking on stopping them at the landing pad. Shepard and Wrex had taken point, while the two salarians stayed at the back. Despite her grumbling, the krogan had to be protected.

"Shepard, how many bullets to the head do you think you can take?" Wrex asked, "because they'll shoot you if you try this."  
"No they won't," Shepard said.  
"She's right," Wiks said before turning to Wrex and the krogan female, "but they will shoot you two."  
"Suggest Wrex stay back with her while we try to resolve situation," Mordin said. Wrex harrumphed and nodded in response, strolling up the ramp to the walkway in the middle of the room.  
"You should stay clear of that door," Wiks said, pointing to the door on the other side of the walkway crossing the room.  
"We don't need to be coddled," the female krogan said, inspecting the pistol Wrex had given her as she walked.  
"I don't want you to get sniped," Shepard said, "if it turns ugly, start shooting."  
Wrex went to stand by the wall with the other krogan as Shepard and the two salarians approached the door. She held up her omni-tool to open the door.

She came face to face with three salarians and two red dots dancing across her visor. She stood still, staring down the centermost of the three salarians standing by the railing. He held a pistol in his right hand, as did the other two salarians. Wiks frowned.  
"Lieutenant Tolan," he said.  
"Padok Wiks, Solus Mordin and Commander Shepard," the salarian in the centre said, "I assume the krogan are close by."  
Shepard sighed.  
"Call off your snipers and let us pass," she said, "or have you also been ordered to betray your dalatrass' promises?"  
Tolan suppressed a chuckle.  
"There are still some who know what's best for the union," he said, "and I knew those wouldn't be you," he continued, turning his gaze to the two salarians flanking Shepard.  
"Would those include dalatrass Linron?" Wiks asked. Tolan's features hardened. He sighed.  
"Just give up the krogan, you know you have no chance," he said.  
"No," Shepard shot back.  
"I have several snipers in position. I would not wish to have to order them to fire," he said, "your death would cause diplomatic fallout, but we are prepared to deal with that."  
"You aren't even prepared to deal with us," Shepard said, "we will leave, with the krogan, by force if necessary."  
"Don't try it, Shepard," Tolan said. He tightened his grip on the pistol, staring the commander down. Shepard looked at the roofs and balconies visible from her position. Two red dots still wavered on her helmet. She could see more. Tolan had not been exaggerating. Still, the lieutenant had made some tactical mistakes, such as positioning himself within the range of a biotic charge. There was cover to her left. Mordin and Wiks could avoid the snipers if they were quick.

"Fire," Shepard said as a blue corona flared around her. She rushed forth as two bullets sailed through where her head had been a fraction of a second ago. Tolan raised his pistol and fired once, the bullet deflected by the mass effect fields caused by Shepard's biotic charge. The salarian to Tolan's right fell to his knees, brought low by Mordin and Wiks. Shepard slammed against Tolan, pressing him against the railing before the force ofher attack pushed her back. Tolan stumbled, seeking support among the plants on the railing. The other's salarian's omni-tool extended into a blade for an upwards stab at Shepard, only for her to smack it aside with a biotic fist. A swift punch sent the salarian over the railing, and Shepard turned towards Tolan.  
"Backup! Now!" Tolan shouted into his suit radio, ducking under Shepard's left fist.  
"Cortez! Get on my coordinates ASAP!" Shepard shouted into her own helmet radio, stepping back to avoid a slash of Tolan's omni-blade. Her own blade sprang into being, and was almost shattered as her first strike was blocked by the salarian lieutenant.  
"Aye aye, Commander," Cortez said.

Wiks and Mordin ducked behind another railing, trying to fire at the snipers without exposing themselves. Shepard knew that her survival was contingent on the snipers not wanting to risk shooting Tolan. Wrex appeared in the doorway, but ducked back out just as a sniper fired at him.  
"Smoke bomb!" Mordin shouted, tossing a grenade over the solid railing he was ducking behind. The whitish smoke billowed across the room, concealing the fighters within. Shepard could still see the salarian's omni-blade, but not much else. The orange glow lowered, and Shepard took a step back and to the side. Two shots rang out through the smoke, creating slight vortexes in it. She extended a hand toward the source of the shots with a flick of the wrist.

The salarian lieutenant became visible, struggling against the biotic pull. He raised his omni-blade, but Shepard was ready. She forced the blade aside and grabbed the salarian by the base of the neck, slamming him to the floor. She held up her omni-blade in her left hand, making the split-second decision to take him hostage instead. Then, suddenly, the salarian kicked her in the lower chest, loosening her grip. He scooted backwards and jumped to his feet, disappearing into the smoke. She was about to go after him when she heard a door open.

"Get the krogan!" Shepard could hear a male salarian voice shout, somewhere around the doors on the perpendicular walls. Then she heard Wrex let out what could only be described as a roar, followed by his heavy, stomping footsteps.  
"Krogan charging! No! No!" The salarian's frantic yells were cut off by a thumping sound. The smoke thinned as Shepard ran forth, and she saw Wrex fire his shotgun, standing over a salarian soldier. Mordin and Wiks had turned, firing at the same group of salarians, who were frantically backing away from the krogan in the doorway. Another salarian fell to the shot of a heavy pistol, wielded by the female krogan in the other doorway. Wrex stepped back from the doorway as a red dot moved towards him.  
"Bastards have snipers," he said, "we're stuck until your pilot gets here."  
"Shouldn't take long," Shepard said, firing her shotgun at a salarian trying to shoot at her around the corner. Wrex turned slightly, and a blue corona surrounded him. A small disk changed direction midair, flying into the smoke. Then, it exploded, creating swirls in the smoke. Mordin and Wiks turned behind the fence, firing at the origin of the grenade. One of the salarians on the other side, behind the corner, tossed another grenade. Shepard responded with a biotic push, flinging the grenade off the building to detonate in the empty air. She fired her shotgun, forcing another salarian back into cover as his shield vanished. They had been successful in keeping them at bay so far, but they were hemmed in. Luckily, the Kodiak was already in sight. The smoke had not reached through the doors, and Shepard could see the military shuttle approach. Targeting lasers flickered on the Kodiak's surface as the snipers futilely tried to bring it down. The vehicle disappeared behind the dividing wall, and though it should have still been visible from Shepard's position, smoke obscured it. Nevertheless, she knew their rescue was here.

"Go, go, go!" She shouted, making a dash for the shuttle. Wrex ran in after her with the female on his tail. Mordin and Wiks jumped over the fence, running for the shuttle.  
"Stop them!" Tolan shouted from somewhere in front of Shepard. A bullet whizzed past her head, and she could see the salarian through the smoke just as Wrex tossed him aside like a ragdoll. A few stray shots rang behind her, but hit nothing. She jumped into the Kodiak, followed by the two krogan. Then, Mordin and Wiks jumped in, almost in unison. The door began to close.  
"Grenades! Don't let them get away!" Tolan shouted, still conscious despite Wrex's vicious attack. The door slid closed just as several grenades exploded against it, shaking the shuttle.  
"Get us out of here!" Shepard shouted to Cortez, who was already accelerating, away from the red dots that still followed their flight.

The Kodiak flew, back to the friendlier reaches of space.

Shepard leaned into her chair in the empty mess hall. She would probably later be called on to explain why her passing had left the STG base in disarray, with dead salarians, escaped test subjects and general chaos. However, now she was too tired to deal with any of that. She had used her biotics more than was entirely healthy, and the exertion had come crashing down on her once the adrenaline had left her system. She had eaten as well as she could on an Alliance vessel, and now she needed rest.

She saw the female krogan from the corner of her eye. She turned to the krogan as she sat down in the chair on the other side of the table, twisting in the seat to make it accommodate her krogan proportions.  
"Eve. Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Shepard asked.  
"Bah," the krogan grunted in response, "I'm not that weak. Besides, I couldn't listen to those two for one minute longer."  
"Wiks and Mordin?" Shepard asked.  
"Yes," Eve said, "they keep arguing. About evolution, ethics, philosophy, the genophage, my treatment."  
"Have they actually gotten any work done?" Shepard asked.  
"Once they agree on what needs to be done, they're effective," Eve said, "but before that happens," she let the sentence trail off, grumbling.  
"They actually let you out?" Shepard asked.  
"No," Eve said, "they just didn't notice I left."  
"But will soon," Shepard said. Eve shrugged, her hump rising and falling with her shoulders.  
"Anyway, Shepard," Eve started, "back on Sur'kesh, you only brought Wrex with you. Why? I've seen many capable fighters here, like that turian." Shepard sighed in response.  
"I misjudged," Shepard said, "I thought a larger armed entourage would just breed hostility. I didn't think they'd try to stop us."  
"I see," Eve said, before turning to the med-bay door. Wiks had walked out, and turned to the two women around the table.  
"Eve! Here you are," He said, "we need another tissue sample."  
"Don't you have over twenty of them already?" Eve grumbled.  
"Yes, but we need a fresh one," Wiks said. "Needed to test longevity of mutagens with different methods of preservation."  
Eve stood up from her chair and plodded back towards the med-bay. The door closed when the salarian and krogan had went, leaving Shepard alone in the mess hall once again. She stood up, ponderously walking towards the elevator. Perhaps she should have a proper rest as well. 


End file.
